Affordable Housing Forum

In October 2006 — in partnership with Smart Growth BC, CMHC and SFU City Program — the Commission hosted a conference on affordable housing.

Affordability by Design – Affordability for All

The purpose of the conference was to offer a venue to explore how Vancouver’s housing options can be improved, in the context of the Ecodensity initiative announced in June 2006, looking at mixed housing design, innovative urban design elements, overcoming legal and financial barriers, and best practices from Vancouver and other jurisdictions.

About

This full-day session included speakers and four facilitated workshops combining short presentations with open discussion and idea generation in small groups:

Small infill houses on laneways

Adaptive re-use and enhanced housing mixes in single family areas, including du/tri/quad-plexes and suites.

Intensification along major roads, new nodes and transit stations.

“Outside the box” housing alternatives

The conference was preceded by a public lecture by keynote speaker and journalist Karrie Jacobs, author of The Perfect $100,000 House – the story of her 14,000-mile search for “happiness in a thousand square feet.” Dale McClanaghan and Lance Jakubec responded to her presentation.

Speakers

Conference speakers included:

Sam Sullivan, Mayor of Vancouver

Larry Beasley, former Co-director of Planning, City of Vancouver

Bill Buholzer, Lawyer, Lidstone Young Anderson

Bruce Haden, Principal, Hotson Bakker Boniface Haden Architects

Bob Ransford, Senior Consultant, Counterpoint Communications Inc.

Jay Wollenberg, President, Coriolis Consulting Corporation

Gordon Price, Directory, SFU City Program

Funding sponsors included Vancity, CMHC, and the Real Estate Foundation of BC.